By Abigail W. Adams
Organizers with the Maine Veterans Project greeted Laura Bryer and Kristian Whitt at the end of their 148-mile journey to raise awareness about veteran suicide. From left: Matt Benner, Bryer, Whitt, Lisa Berg, and Shawn Goodwin. (Photo courtesy Maine Veterans Project) |
Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day, according to an estimate based on a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study.
For Laura Bryer, of Wiscasset, the statistic is not just unsettling, it is unacceptable.
On Aug. 29, Bryer embarked on a 148-mile bicycle journey from Wiscasset to Machias to raise awareness of the epidemic of veterans committing suicide and to support the mission of the Maine Veterans Project, a recently formed nonprofit devoted to serving at-risk veterans.
“It was the most difficult challenge I could think of for myself,” Bryer said. An avid hiker, Bryer is not a conditioned cyclist, she said. She specifically chose cycling because she knew it would push her to her physical limit – something she was willing to do to prevent veterans from taking their own lives.
Veterans “stand up for everyone else in this country and they’re not being taken care of when they return,” Bryer said.
The trek up Route 1 with cyclist partner Kristian Whitt, of Bath, was conceived of only three weeks prior to their departure, Bryer said. Bryer’s family thought she was crazy, she said.
Red’s Eats and Le Garage restaurants threw their support behind her trip, which not only raised awareness about veteran suicide, it also raised approximately $2,000, all of which will go toward supporting at-risk veterans.
The spontaneous journey was inspired by the work of the Maine Veterans Project, a nonprofit organization formed in July by Shawn Goodwin, a veteran who has completed deployments with the 5th Group Special Forces in Iraq and with an Army Intelligence Team at Guantanamo Bay.
After serving for eight years in the armed forces, Goodwin went on to work in the private security field. A native of the Down East region, Goodwin returned home last year to enjoy a Maine summer. It was then that Goodwin learned the statistics of veterans taking their own lives and decided to do something about it.
Goodwin organized an ATV race to support the work of Active Heroes, a nonprofit with the mission of ending veteran suicide, in 2014. The success of the fundraising effort inspired him to form a nonprofit with the same mission, which came into being just this past July.
Rather than spending time developing a brand name for the Maine Veterans Project, Goodwin and company are putting all of their energy and resources into creating services to address an immediate need. Initially, the Maine Veterans Project intended to donate money from their fundraising efforts to repair houses, however, the organization wanted to stretch the money as far as it would go and serve the maximum amount of veterans possible.
The organization is now in the process of organizing Maine’s first veterans’ retreat, a 48-hour structured retreat organized by veterans for veterans. The retreat is designed to help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and re-entry to civilian life, Goodwin said.
It is a first step to connecting at-risk veterans to a larger support network and short-term and long-term treatment options. The Cottonwood Campground in Columbia Falls has already opened its doors to the initiative, and the state of Maine has already granted veterans who participate, in addition to Gold Star families and wounded veterans, free fishing licenses for a year in two lakes, Goodwin said.
The Maine Veterans Project hopes the first retreat will evolve into an open, year-round respite to provide veterans in high-stress situations a needed getaway. The Maine Veterans Project is also working to serve and support victims of military sexual trauma – victims who are both men and women, Goodwin said.
Goodwin and Bryer connected through mutual friends and share the same motivation and passion to take action to support struggling veterans. “I was blown away by their humanitarianism,” Bryer said of the Maine Veterans Project.
Bryer made the journey from Wiscasset to Machias up Route 1 in a red, white, and blue tutu to gain the maximum amount of visibility for the Maine Veterans Project. People were honking and waving all along the way, Bryer said.
A crowd gathered at Pat’s Pizza in Machias to greet Bryer and Whitt as they crossed the finish line. Goodwin did a push up for every mile that Bryer biked, 148, a pledge he made if she completed the journey.
“It was empowering and humbling,” Bryer said. “The fact that we were able to do this and raise so much awareness. I feel like we put a dent in it.”
“Everything. That’s the one word I would use to describe Laura’s ride,” Goodwin said. “It means everything to us. She’s not just pounding the pavement and raising money. She’s bringing validity to our project and inspiring others to do something.”
For more information about the Maine Veterans Project, visit www.facebook.com/meveteransproject or call 415-553-0523.